From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement?
Westerly Middle School: Observation: Last week I observed Ms. Derix's 6th grade science class. Ms. Derix has a friendly approach to her teaching while remaining stern and fair. She knows when to make jokes with the students but will call on students if she senses inattention. Today she spent the beginning of class explaining the directions to the ecosystems lab and it was clear that some students weren’t listening. She was very good at keeping those students attentive with the cue, "I can tell you are paying attention because your eyes are on me". After she was finished, the class, including the inattentive students, rushed to stand and scattered around the room to collect their materials and get into their partner groups to begin. Throughout the lab, Ms. Derix walked around the classroom and encouraged me to do the same, checking in on students as they read the directions and began the assignment. Though she never offered, she was helpful and accessible to any group who had a question or needed assistance. Reflection: I think that when I have a class of my own, instead of a one-way lecture of the lab directions to the students, I will try to create a structured, interactive explanation. By having the class repeat steps back to me or having random people reading certain steps out loud, I hope to keep the entire class engaged and prepared to begin the lab with full understanding. Ms. Derix's playful personality with the class is certainly something I plan to bring into my own room, as it seems to create a better relationship with the students and makes learning more fun for them. Having engaged students is very important to me because it is apparent by my observations now that the more engaged students are the ones who are learning the most.
You point about having Ss answer questions to nail down a procedure is a good one. You could even present it as if they are coming up with the procedure. In general, one-way communication in ms or hs discourages attention. I was hoping that you would include more detail about specific Ss behaviors. Possibly an opportunity missed.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement?
Westerly Middle School:
Observation:
Last week I observed Ms. Derix's 6th grade science class. Ms. Derix has a friendly approach to her teaching while remaining stern and fair. She knows when to make jokes with the students but will call on students if she senses inattention. Today she spent the beginning of class explaining the directions to the ecosystems lab and it was clear that some students weren’t listening. She was very good at keeping those students attentive with the cue, "I can tell you are paying attention because your eyes are on me". After she was finished, the class, including the inattentive students, rushed to stand and scattered around the room to collect their materials and get into their partner groups to begin. Throughout the lab, Ms. Derix walked around the classroom and encouraged me to do the same, checking in on students as they read the directions and began the assignment. Though she never offered, she was helpful and accessible to any group who had a question or needed assistance.
Reflection:
I think that when I have a class of my own, instead of a one-way lecture of the lab directions to the students, I will try to create a structured, interactive explanation. By having the class repeat steps back to me or having random people reading certain steps out loud, I hope to keep the entire class engaged and prepared to begin the lab with full understanding. Ms. Derix's playful personality with the class is certainly something I plan to bring into my own room, as it seems to create a better relationship with the students and makes learning more fun for them. Having engaged students is very important to me because it is apparent by my observations now that the more engaged students are the ones who are learning the most.
You point about having Ss answer questions to nail down a procedure is a good one. You could even present it as if they are coming up with the procedure. In general, one-way communication in ms or hs discourages attention. I was hoping that you would include more detail about specific Ss behaviors. Possibly an opportunity missed.